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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25228444">The Foxhole Diner</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Me_Being_Difficult/pseuds/Me_Being_Difficult'>Me_Being_Difficult</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>All For The Game - Nora Sakavic</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>0 words pass between Andrew and Neil in this fic, Gen, Neil is barely there, Neil is new, cryptid, future relationship, hinted at - Freeform, lol, meet cute?, more like meet weird, shitty diner au, they are all cryptids</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 05:00:26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,221</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25228444</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Me_Being_Difficult/pseuds/Me_Being_Difficult</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>All the crazy in Palmetto drains down to the Foxhole Diner.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Hinted at Andrew Minyard/Neil Josten</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>33</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Foxhole Diner</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Here's some garbage. Pls like.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“There’s a new cryptid in town, and Andrew I think he’s more cryptidier than you,” Matt came through; more like burst through the doors and announced.</p><p>Andrew sighed. Matt wouldn’t have had the daring to address him so casually few months ago. But now they were 'friends'.</p><p>“I don’t think cryptidier is a word,” Aaron said dutifully, raising his head from the floor where he was lying face first.</p><p>“Dan saw this guy, not me,” Matt continued as if Aaron never spoke. “Apparently she saw him running at 11 in the morning. Looked like he was jogging casually. Buuuut, get this, he was wearing full sleeves hoodie and not listening to any music!” Matt waited for a reaction. He got none as his audiences were only Andrew, Aaron, Kevin and Renee; the four most inexpressive out of their little group.</p><p>“Guys,” Matt whined and plopped down on an empty chair. Andrew should really get rid of all and any seating material in the flat. “This guy was running with no music! Only monsters and people who are planning murders do that.”</p><p>“I don’t listen to music in gym,” Andrew spoke, expecting Matt to flinch. He only scoffed, irritating Andrew to no end. Were these people not scared of him at all anymore?</p><p>“That’s because you ARE planning a murder 24/7. We know.”</p><p>Hmm, better. As long as they were aware.</p><p>“Guess we have a new killer in town,” Renee said pleasantly, as if commenting on weather. She and Kevin were playing chess but with made up rules of their own.</p><p>“You have competition, Andrew,” Aaron said without raising his head this time. It came out muffled but Andrew heard it.</p><p>“You know if he’s a true cryptid, he’s bound to turn up at Foxhole soon enough," Kevin spoke up. "How about anyone who sees him there first, wins 15 bucks each from everyone else?” </p><p>Andrew gave no indicator that he heard it. He wondered how his life came to this point where he suddenly had to put up with people.</p><p>…</p><p>They really were a mismatched bunch. Different backgrounds, different careers. There was no reason for all of them to end being such good friends. Kevin and Renee were understandable. They were regular in Andrew’s gym. Aaron and Nicky were family. His only family. But Matt Boyd? Dan Wilds? Allison fucking Reynolds- the eccentric millionaire that owned most of the town?</p><p>But there was a common thread between them.</p><p>The Foxhole Diner at the edge of the town.</p><p>Palmetto was actually a quiet, cookie cutter town with the Palmetto University on one side. It was a small university that had a decent medical program. Despite having a campus full of young harried college kids, it was surprisingly drama free. They mostly stuck to the campus or at max went to the Sweetie’s for their cheap food needs. The town itself, very suburban. But maybe because the town was so serene, it was like all the crazy drained down to the outer edge of the town, where the sole 24/7 diner stood. The diner was on highway and did decent business in the day.</p><p>But it was in those deep unsettling hours of night these lost souls met each other. Insomnia, fucked up body sleep cycle, study pressure, boyfriend in different country, the only place in town which point blank refused to serve alcohol to Kevin Day. In Andrew’s case, it was their milkshake which he always craved late night.</p><p>Despite the show he had put up when everyone was talking about the new guy in town- nothing much interesting had happened in between- he himself wanted that sizeable bet they had put on. Alison barged in the next day claiming the money because she saw him buy something in the supermarket at 12.30 am. But her plea was rejected on the grounds that the terms of the bet specified they needed to spot him at the diner.</p><p>There were a few more sightings around the town, but none in the diner. For a supposed cryptid, he was very visible. Nicky was gushing about his supposed hotness. He apparently had auburn red hair like fire. He had eyes like sapphire. He was almost as short as Andrew. He had very interesting scars on his face and body which he didn't answer questions about. And in all his sightings he continued doing something so weird that his status as a cryptid was cemented.</p><p>They all speculated who he was. Allison did some sleuthing and found out he lived in a cheapass building near Wantucket Sqaure and he was currently unemployed. And his name was Neil Josten. But beyond that, not much. It was clear he wanted to keep to himself, but he wasn't making himself invisible. He wasn't hiding. It was as if he dared people to ask him just so he can boldly turn them away.</p><p>That interested Andrew. For three nights in a row Andrew dragged either Aaron or Nicky to Foxhole. To win the bet. Supposedly.</p><p>But no sign of anyone new. By this point he and Renee were the only two people who hadn’t spotted him. Andrew couldn’t figure out why it annoyed him so much. Because he was found running again at very odd times, Andrew slightly hoped that he might be athletic types and would find his way to Andrew’s Gym. But no show. So, the diner it is. He avoided the place on weekends because few kids from the university would sometimes wander around there.</p><p>Come Monday at night, he nudged at Aaron’s drooling face. “Get up, we’re going to foxhole.”</p><p>“Fuck off. I finished my assignment on time for once. Lemme sleep,” he mumbled and turned away.</p><p>Nicky was at Renee’s, apparently helping her dye her hair.</p><p>It wasn’t like he couldn’t have called someone else to come with him. But it would’ve been easier to bully his family into claiming he saw the guy first, if he even was there. Andrew left alone.</p><p>Andrew decided to walk to the diner. He didn’t know why he was doing this. He hated walking. He’d rather benchpress 200 pounds than walk. He also didn’t know why he cared about the new guy either. What was he looking to achieve once he met this guy? For all they knew, he could be a murderer, a criminal on the run from the law. So what if he was hot? So what if he coldly cut Allison’s attempt at flirting?</p><p>Lost in thought, he barely realised he had arrived at the diner. The diner had really shitty decor. The outer walls were painted sky blue which had faded and mottled with dirt. It had a decent sized parking lot which he had noticed was a blind spot from one of the two security cameras. He wondered if it was intentional on Wymack’s, the owner’s part. Few attempts at planting flowers were clear near the entrance. Inside the place was even grungier with exposed metal pipes and rexine seating which was coloured orange and white. He supposed the diner looked innocuous in day time. He paused at the door; his stomach gave a slight lurch.</p><p>The metal bell clinked as he entered. A redhead looked up from the counter, wearing uniform of the diner.</p><p>Huh. He was definitely new.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I imagined Neil as a free man, like having gone through all the shit with his family and under protection from FBI now.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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